Fused connecter



Feb. 5, .1935. I FRlED 1,990,176

FUSED-CONNECTER .Filed se p. 29, 1931 INVENTQR Patented Feb. 5,1935

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Philip Lauter, New York,

Application September 29, 1931, Serial No. 565,811 7 Claims. (Cl.200-1155) This invention relates to a fused connecter for electricwiring, and an object of the invention is to provide an article of thistype which shall be at once small, simple and inexpensive tomanufacture, efiicient in use, one which shall conform 0 rectness byeven the r is it may be made with all requirements for safety to theuser and to the wiring'with which it may be connected, and one in whichthe fuse or fuses present may be removed and replaced with great easeand cormost unskilled persons.

A further object is to provide a fused connecter having all of the abovecharacteristics and which may be be made up in various forms, that upwith prongs at one side by which it may be plugged into a standardsocket and withsockets or prongs at one or more of its other sides bywhich conductors may be led from it or it may have only simple openingsat one or more of its sides for incoming and out-going lead wires.

Other objects and aims of the invention, more or less specific thanthose referred to above, will be in part obvious and in part pointed outin the course of the following description of the elements,combinations, arrangements of parts and applications of principlesconstituting the invention; and the scope of protection contemplatedwill be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing which is to be taken as a part of thisspecification, and in which I have shown merely a preferred form ofembodiment of the invention:-

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of one of the two halves of theconnecter, interior parts being shown in elevation and the retainingbolt for the two halves being shown in cross-section.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line II-II of Fig. 1, lookingin the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view seen in Figs. 1 and 2, and

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view as seen in Figs. 1 and on line IV-IV ofFig.

Referring to the drawing for a detail description of the exemplarystructure illustrated, the reference character 11 designates one of twosymmetrically disposed halves of the main body of the connecter, and 12is the other half. A bolt 13 is provided for joining the said halves toeach other.

The body 11-12 may be made of any suitable non-conducting material, suchas hard rubber, phenolic re'sin, porcelain, wood, or the like, and eachof the two halves is provided with suitable of the structure as of thestructure 2, being partly in section, 1.

grooves and cavities for receiving therein the metal parts employed andthe fuses 14 and 15.

The fuses 14 and 15 are of a well known type including a tubular bodyportion having opposite end metallic ferrules or contacts 16-16 which 5interengage with the upper and lower spring clips 17 and 18.

The two lower clips 18-18 are carried by the two-plug-in bars 19-19which serve as electrical connecters when inserted into correspondingcontact openings in a suitable electrical fitting in the usual way.

The two upper clips 17-17 are secured to the two contact members 20-20.

In the instance illustrated the members 20-20 are each formed with aspring contact part as 21 and these are positioned within slots 22-22which open outwardly through the upper end face 23 of the body, it beinghere noted that the bars 19 project relatively downwardly through slots24-24 which open through the bottom face 25 of the body.

If desired the contact formed with other spring contact parts as 26 and27, within which are provided transversely through the halves.

Branch connections may be made through said slots 28 and 29 to thecontact members 20-20 at the front face 30 of the connecter and at theby inserting suitable plug- 28 or 29 into electrical connection withsaid contact parts 26 and 27.

- Aligned with the fuses 14 and 15 the body is formed with a pair ofholes 32 and 33 which open downwardly through the bottom face 25 andwhich are of a size and disposition to permit easy lengthwise passage ofthe fuses therethrough into or out of engagement with the clips 17 and18 Also aligned with the fuses is formed with a second pair of holes as34 and 35. These open upwardly through the top'face 23 and arepreferably of smaller diameter than the holes 32 and 33.

A suitable rod, such as a tang of an ordinary carving set fork, to serveas an ejector, may be inserted into one of said holes 34-35 and againsta burned out fuse which is to be removed and by pressing or pushing onthe rod the fuse may be ejected through the corresponding bottom hole32-33, leaving the clips 17 and 18 empty and in position to receive anew fuse, which may be inserted through the bottom opening and pushed 14and 15 the body 2 up into the waiting clips either by the operatorsfinger or by the same tool or rod used in removing the burned fuse. 7

It will be understood that the plug-in bars 19 must obviously be removedfrom their sockets in the wall fitting before a burned fuse can possiblybe removed or a new fuse inserted, this being due to the fact that theholes 32 and 33 through which the fuses must pass are always sealed byopposing parts of the wall fitting whenever the plug-in bars 19-19 areplugged into the wall fitting. The presence of the opposing parts of thewall fitting also positively prevents the possibility of the operatorsfingersever reaching the fuses or clips while current is present in saidfuses or clips.

The fuses 14 may be made of a construction to blow out before the mainfuse of the circuit blows out, for obvious reasons.

The plug-in bars 19 and the contact member 20 constitute only one formof means which may be utilized as in-coming and out-going electricalconnections, and it will be understood that incoming and out-goingelectrical connection with the opposite ends of the two fuses may beprovided for by any other approved means if preferred withoutinterfering with the renewability of the fuses in the safe and easymanner set forth.

In any event the fuse clips are preferably each independently held inits appointed position by being fixed to suitable contact members, as 19and 20 illustrated, which are in turn held in cavities of the bodyspaced apart so that all of the contact members are properly insulatedfrom each other.

Preferably the severr' cavities of the body which receive the contactmembers, as well as those which receive the fuses and fuse clips, andthose which form the slots 22 and 24, and also the holes 32-33, and34-35, are formed as halfcavities in the respective body halves 11 and12. Ease of assembly is thus afforded, it being required only that theseveral loose parts he placed in the appropriate half-cavities of one ofthe body halves before connecting the two body halves together. When thetwo halves are brought together the opposing walls of the two half-cavities may serve as clamps to hold the loose parts against unduemovement.

in order to facilitate the easy longitudinal insertion and removal ofthe fuses in the manner described the jaws of the spring clips 17-18have their side edges flared out, as at 36, so that the fuses may easilywedge themselves into and through the jaws, as will be readilyunderstood.

The bolt 13, or its equivalent holding means employed to retain the twobody halves together may be such as to perform a permanent seal of saidhalves to each other, or it may be such as to permit of convenientseparation of said halves to expose the interior of the device, or insome instances the interior of the device may be made easily accessibleby other means, and it may be noted in this connection that in instanceswhere the interior of the device is readily accessible the arrangementof the fuse clips within the interior of the device may be such as topermit of easy insertion and removal of the fuses without necessity forproviding the holes 32-33 or 34-35.

It is also important to note that while it is desirable that the holes32-33, when present, should be formed through the bottom iace 25 of thebody so as to be closed to access when the device is plugged into a wallreceptacle as hereinabove pointed out, nevertheless in some instancesthese holes may, if desired, be arranged to open through one of theother faces of the body, the faces, and likewise the holes 34-35 ifpresent, being in that case of course suitably arranged to facilitateremoval of the fuses through the openings 32-33 wherever said openings32-33 are placed.

The device as herein disclosed may be used in various relations but itfinds probably its most desirable use in the ordinary householdinstallations where wall receptacles are used for the attachment of suchelectrical accessories as toasters, coflee pots, grills, wafile irons,floor and table lamps, etc. In these cases it is common practice for thehouse-wife to plug in a number of different accessories at a single wallreceptacle usually by first plugging into the receptacle a multipleoutlet connecter and then attaching the accessories one into each pairof outlets of the multiple connecter. If for any reason the localcircuit in any of the accessories should become shorted, or if anexcessive number of accessories should be in simultaneous use, theprotecting fuse cf the main line would be blown thereby causing muchinconvenience and annoyance, and of course putting out of use all of theaccessories as well as all other outlets on the main line concerned.

By utilizing one of the present fused connecters, as the multipleconnecter for insertion into the wall receptacle, in place of the usualnon-fused connecter, the fuses in the present device would protect themain line and its fuses, and it is worthy of notice that due to thepresence of the fuses in this device either or all of its branch outletsmay serve for the attachment of any reasonable number of accessories byusing multiple connecters plugged-in to the outlet openings of thepresent device. It is practical to do this since any overloading wouldresult only in the blowing of the fuse or fuses in the present deviceand thereby positively guard against the imposition of any overloadingon the main line.

As many changes could be made in this construction without departingfrom the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims,

it is intended that all matter contained in the above description, orshown in the accompanying drawing, shall be interpreted as illustrativeonly and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:-

1. A fuse adapter comprising a body member formed of insulatingmaterial, a pair of fuse supports arranged within the body in insulatedrelation to each other collectively constituting a run-way tolongitudinally slidably support a fuse, means by which electricalconductors may be connected with said fuse supports respectively, andsaid body having a passage extending from exteriorly thereof to adjacentone end of the runway through which a fuse may be moved along saidrun-way out of the body.

2. A fuse adapter comprising a body member formed of insulatingmaterial, a pair of fuse supports arranged within the body in insulatedrelation to each other collectively constituting a runway tolongitudinally slidably support a fuse, means by which electricalconductors may be connected with said fuse supports respectively, saidbody having a passage extending from er.- teriorly thereof to adjacentone end of the runway through which a fuse may be moved along saidrun-way out of the body, and said body having a second passage extendingfrom exteriorly thereof to adjacent the opposite end of the runwaythrough which a tool may be inserted to cause movement of the fuse alongsaid run-way out of said first passage.

3. A fuse adapter comprising a body member formed of insulatingmaterial, a pair of fuse supports arranged within the body in insulatedrelation to each other collectively constituting a run-way tolongitudinally slidably support a fuse, means by which electricalconductors may be connected with said fuse supports respectively, saidbody having a passage extending from exteriorly thereof to adjacent oneend of the runway through which a fuse may be moved along said run-wayout of the body, and said body having a second passage extending fromexteriorly thereof to adjacent the opposite end of the runway throughwhich a tool may be inserted to cause movement of the fuse along saidrun-way out of said first passage, said body being formed with ashoulder therein at the inner end of said second passage to limit inwardmovement of the fuse along said run-way.

A fuse adapter comprising a body member formed of insulating material, apair of fuse supports arranged within the body in insulated relation toeach other collectively constituting a run-way to longitudinallyslidably support a fuse, means by which electrical conductors may beconnected with said fuse supports respectively, a fuse of thecylindrical type having contact portions at its opposite ends whichportions longitudinally slidably engage the fuse supports respectively,and said body having a passage extending from exteriorly thereof toadjacent one end of the fuse through which the fuse may be moved alongsaid run-way out of the body.

5. A fuse adapter comprising a body member formed of insulatingmaterial, a pair of fuse supports arranged within the body in insulatedrelation to each other collectively constituting a run-way tolongitudinally slidably support a fuse, plug-in means extending throughone end surface of the body electrically connected with one of the fusesupports, means by which electrical connection may be made with theother fuse support from without the body, said body having a passageextending through the mentioned end surface thereof to adjacent one endof the runway through which a fuse may be moved along said run-way outof the body, and said body having a second passage extending fromexteriorly thereof to adjacent the opposite end of the run-way throughwhich a tool may be inserted to cause movement of the fuse along saidrun-way out of said first passage.

6. A fused connecter comprising a body formed of insulating material andhaving one of its surfaces intended for resting flat against the oppsing surface of a wall receptacle with which said body may be connected,a pair of plug-in bars carried by the body in insulated relation to eachother and extending through the mentioned surface of the body adaptedfor plugging-in to the wall receptacle in the usual manner, two pairs offuse clips arranged within the body all insulated from each other oneclip of each pair being connected with one of the plug-in bars, means bywhich electrical conductors may be connected with the remaining clips ofeach pair, and the body having a pair of openings therein openingoutwardly through the first mentioned surface of the body adapted to beclosed by the opposing surface of the wall receptacle when the plug-inbars are plugged into said receptacle, said openings being adjacent tothe fuse clip pairs respectively providing for removal of fusestherethrough from said clips except when the plug-in bars are pluggedinto the wall receptacle.

7. A fuse adapter of the character described comprising a body having abore extending into the same from one end thereof, a smaller counterboreextending from the inner end of the bore through the opposite end of thebody to define a shoulder, a fuse for disposition into the bore andagainst the shoulder, a spring contact for engaging the end of the fuseadjacent the outer end of the bore, a contact prong extending outwardlyfrom one end of the body and having its inner end embedded in the bodyand in contact with said spring contact. said body being provided with apair of cavities in the opposite end, a spring in each of thelast-mentioned cavities, a contact prong complementary to thefirst-mentioned contact prong. and having one end embedded in the bodyand electrically connected with one of the spring contacts in thecavities at the opposite end of the body, the remaining spring contactat the last-mentioned end of the body being provided with an extendingportion for engaging the opposite end of the fuse.

JOSEPH A. FRIED.

